HOMO ERECTUS HAND BONE SHOWS DEXTERITY 1/2 MILLION YEARS EARLIER THAN PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT

The discovery of an ancient bone at a burial site in Kenya puts the origin of human hand dexterity more than half a million years earlier than previously thought.

In all ways, the bone - a well-preserved metacarpal that connects to the middle finger - resembles that of modern man, PNAS journal reports.

It is the earliest fossilised evidence of when humans developed a strong enough grip to start using tools.